Let the vocals fly you away into a ball of Trance euphoria with this one. Out now on the large A label!
You heard it from the hands of Above & Beyond. Were it during their last Printworks sets, Buenos Aires, or their EDC set, chances are, you’re familiar with this song. The debate even settled as far as believing A&B themselves were behind this ID. That was until they released their Tranquility Base Vol. 1 EP and none of the tracks were this one. And so, it remained an ID well into April, May, and June.
July was the month that would clear the doubts of many, including he who’s writing this article. To those who eyeballed the track as coming from now-resident Anjunabeats duo Alex Sonata & TheRio: props to you, go pop a bottle of champagne. Indeed, the highly-anticipated ID comes from the guys who just recently collaborated with Andrew Bayer.
The name? ‘Mantra‘.
Mantra
Feel the kick of the first drop, which is far from oversaturated: the elements are really well-placed, the kickdrum is not heavy, and in a nutshell, feels like a track which loves to move forward.
The break is pure bliss. You can really tell the difference between the current Progressive Trance sound, which is much more leaned towards the Techno side of things, and this arrangement, which almost feels like a 2015 Progressive Trance tune with a pre-2010 aura. It makes you throw your hands in the air, it causes goosebumps. It is Trance well done after all.
“So I had written the breakdown for ‘Mantra’, thinking about the old-school trance influences I had. I was trying to get something down that gave you those “goosebumps” moments that I remembered getting all those years ago.”
— Fraser Shaw, from Alex Sonata & TheRio (source)
The drop, even though it is a continuation of the break and doesn’t deviate into a different path, brings you to a state of absolute euphoria. The rhytmic pluck going “bom bom, bom bom”, the chords, the vocals… oh dear. Just stop reading right here, close your eyes, and imagine how this one must feel live!
Actually, I have your back. Have a look at how it went down in Argentina mid-April (check first video):
So, without further to do, please check out Alex Sonata & TheRio’s ‘Mantra’ in full by clicking the Spotify button below. Alternatively, click here to listen to it on YouTube, or click here to support the single any other way you like.
